The Indonesian National Armed Forces (; abbreviated as TNI) are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Army (TNI-AD), Navy (TNI-AL), and Air Force (TNI-AU). The President of Indonesia is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. , it comprises approximately 404,500 military personnel including the Indonesian Marine Corps (), which is a branch of the Navy.
Initially formed with the name of the People's Security Army (TKR), then later changed to the Republic of Indonesia Army (TRI) before changing again its name to the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to the present. The Indonesian Armed Forces were formed during the Indonesian National Revolution, when it undertook a guerrilla war along with informal militia. As a result of this, and the need to maintain internal security, the Armed forces including the Army, Navy, and Air Force has been organised along territorial lines, aimed at defeating internal enemies of the state and potential external invaders.Under the 1945 Constitution, all citizens are legally entitled and obliged to defend the nation. Conscription is provided for by law, however the Forces have been able to maintain mandated strength levels without resorting to a draft.
The Indonesian armed forces (military) personnel does not include members of law enforcement and paramilitary personnel such as the Indonesian National Police (Polri) consisting of approximately 440,000+ personnel, Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob) of around 42,000+ armed personnel, and the Indonesian College Students' Regiment or (Menwa) which is a collegiate military service consisting of 26,000 trained personnel.
History
Before the formation of the Indonesian Republic, the military authority in the Dutch East Indies was held by the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL) and by naval forces of the Royal Netherlands Navy (KM). Although both the KNIL and KM were not directly responsible for the formation of the future Indonesian armed forces, and mainly took the role of foe during Indonesian National Revolution in 1945 to 1949, the KNIL had also provided military training and infrastructure for some of the future TNI officers and other ranks. There were military training centres, military schools and academies in the Dutch East Indies. Next to Dutch volunteers and European mercenaries, the KNIL also recruited indigenous, especially Ambonese, Kai Islanders, Timorese, and Minahasan people. In 1940, with the Netherlands under German occupation and the Japanese pressing for access to Dutch East Indies oil supplies, the Dutch had opened up the KNIL to large intakes of previously excluded Javanese.McDonald (1980), pages 13 Some of the indigenous soldiers that had enjoyed Dutch KNIL military academy education would later become important TNI officers, for example Suharto and Abdul Haris Nasution.
Indonesian nationalism and militarism started to gain momentum and support in World War II during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. To gain support from the Indonesian people in their war against the Western Allied force, Japan started to encourage and back Indonesian nationalistic movements by providing Indonesian youth with military training and weapons. On 3 October 1943, the Japanese military formed the Indonesian volunteer army called PETA (; Defenders of the Homeland). The Japanese intended for PETA to assist their forces and oppose a possible invasion by the Allies. The Japanese military training for Indonesian youth was originally meant to rally local support for the Empire of Japan but later became a significant resource for the Republic of Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution from 1945 to 1949. Many of these men who served in PETA, both officers and NCOs alike including Sudirman, formed the majority of the personnel that would compose the future armed forces.
The Indonesian Armed Forces started out as the People's Security Agency (, BKR), which was formed in the third PPKI meeting, on 29 August 1945. BKR united militias across the newly independent country to maintain civil order; it was more of a constabulary than an army. The decision to create a "security agency", and not an army, was taken to avoid the Allied forces seeing it as an armed revolution and invading in full force. One of the terms of surrender to Japan was to return the Asian colonies they had conquered to their previous rulers, certainly not to make them independent.
When confrontations became sharp and hostile between Indonesia and the Allied forces, on 5 October 1945 the People's Security Forces (, TKR) was formed on the basis of existing BKR units; this was a move taken to formalise, unite, and organise the splintered pockets of independent troopers () across Indonesia, ensuing a more professional military approach, to contend with the Netherlands and the Allied force invaders.
The Indonesian armed forces have seen significant action since their establishment in 1945. Their first conflict was the 1945–1949 Indonesian National Revolution, in which the 1945 Battle of Surabaya was especially important as the baptism of fire of the young armed forces.
In January 1946, TKR renamed as the People's Safety Forces (, TKR), then succeeded by Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia (, TRI), in a further step to professionalise the armed forces and increase its ability to engage systematically.
In June 1947, the TRI, per a government decision, was renamed the Indonesian National Armed Forces (, TNI) which was a merger between the TRI and the independent paramilitary organisations () across Indonesia, becoming by 1950 the War Forces of the United States of Indonesia (, APRIS), by mid year the War Forces of the Republic of Indonesia (, APRI), also absolving native personnel from within both the former KNIL and KM within the expanded republic.
According to the official website of Indonesian veterans, there were 863,432 people who joined the struggle for Indonesian independence and this included those who were members of the militia, police, intelligence and auxiliary and as of 2023, there are still 25,676 Indonesian National Revolution veterans alive.
On 21 June 1962, the name (TNI) was changed to (Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia, ABRI). The POLRI (Indonesian National Police) was integrated under the Armed Forces and changed its name to (Police Force), and its commander maintained the concurrent status of Minister of Defense and Security, reporting to the President, who is commander in chief. The commanding generals (later chiefs of staff) and the Chief of the National Police then all held ministerial status as members of the cabinet of the republic, while a number of higher-ranking officers were appointed to other cabinet posts. On 1 July 1969, the Police Force's name was reverted to "POLRI".
After the fall of Suharto in 1998, the democratic and civil movement grew against the acute military role and involvements in Indonesian politics. As a result, the post-Suharto Indonesian military has undergone certain reforms, such as the revocation of the Dwifungsi doctrine and the terminations of military controlled business. The reforms also involved law enforcement in common civil society, which questioned the position of Indonesian police under the military corps umbrella. These reforms led to the separation of the police force from the military. In April 1999, the Indonesian National Police officially regained its independence and now is a separate entity from the armed forces proper. The official name of the Indonesian armed forces also changed from (ABRI) back to (TNI).
Future plans
At the beginning of 2010, the Indonesian government sought to strengthen the TNI to achieve minimum standards of minimum strength called "" (Minimum Essential Force, or MEF). The MEF was divided into three strategic five-year plan stages, 2010–2014, 2015–2019, and 2020–2024. Initially the government budgeted Rp156 trillion (around US$16 billion at the time) for the provision of TNI's main weapon system equipment (known as , an abbreviation for or "Main Weapons System") in the MEF period 2010–2014.
Naming history People's Security Agency (, 22 August – 5 October 1945; spelled ) People's Security Forces (, 5 October 1945 – 7 January 1946; spelled ) People's Safety Forces (, 7–26 January 1946; spelled ) Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia (, 26 January 1946 – 3 June 1947; spelled until 17 March 1947) Indonesian National Armed Forces (, 3 June 1947 – 27 December 1949) War Forces of the Republic of the United States of Indonesia (, 27 December 1949 – 17 August 1950) War Forces of the Republic of Indonesia (, 17 August 1950 – 21 June 1962) Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia (, 21 June 1962 – 1 April 1999; spelled until 1 January 1973)* Indonesian National Armed Forces (, since 1 April 1999)
*the name TNI was still used during ABRI era when it came to the military itself and the branches excluding the Police (e.g. TNI-AD/AL/AU). But when it was Armed Forces as a whole, including the Police, the term ABRI was used instead.
Philosophy and doctrine
The Indonesian military philosophy about the defence of the archipelago is summarily civilian-military defence, called "Total People's Defense", consisting of a three-stage war: a short initial period in which an invader would defeat a conventional Indonesian military, a long period of territorial guerrilla warfare followed by a final stage of expulsion, with the military acting as a rallying point for defence from grass-roots village level upwards. The doctrine relies on a close bond between villager and soldier to encourage the support of the entire population and enable the armed forces to manage all war-related resources.
The civilian population would provide logistical support, intelligence, and upkeep with some of the population that is armed forces-trained to join the guerrilla struggle against the aggressor. The armed forces regularly engage in large-scale community and rural development. The "Armed Forces Enters the Village" (AMD/TMMD) program, begun in 1983, is held three times annually to organise and assist construction and development of civilian village projects.
The current developments in Indonesia's defence policies are framed within the concept of achieving "Minimum Essential Force" or MEF by 2024. This concept of MEF was first articulated in Presidential Decree No. 7/2008 on General Policy Guidelines on State Defense Policy which came into effect on 26 January 2008. MEF is defined as a capability based defence and force level that can guarantee the attainment of immediate strategic defence interests, where the procurement priority is given to the improvement of minimum defence strength and/or the replacement of outdated main weapon systems/equipment. To achieve this aim, MEF had been restructured into a series of 3 strategic programs with timeframes from 2010 to 2014, 2015 to 2019 and 2020 to 2024 as well as spending of up to 1.5–2% of the GDP.
The identity of the Indonesian National Armed forces is as defined by the Article 2 of the Law No 34/2004 on Indonesian National Armed forces is the TNI must aim to become the:
People's Military Forces, the armed forces whose serving personnel come from Indonesian citizens from all walks of life; Military of Warriors, which are soldiers who fought to establish the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia and do not recognise surrender in carrying out and completing its obligations; National Armed Forces, the Indonesian national armed forces who serve in the interest of the country and her people over the interests of the regions/provinces, ethnic groups, races, and religions;